Turkish Airlines joins Fiji Airways, Gulf Air and more in a new league of 2026 APEX heroes. These premium airlines are being rewarded for listening to passengers and refining every detail of the journey. In 2026, loyalty is not just about points. It is about how consistently airlines win the battle for your loyalty miles with comfort, service and reliability. Turkish Airlines brings its powerful network and in‑flight experience into this mix. Fiji Airways adds warm island hospitality. Gulf Air contributes boutique style and regional flair. Together, these carriers and more are reshaping what travellers expect from premium airlines. As standards rise, the 2026 APEX heroes are being watched closely by frequent flyers who want every mile to feel worth it.
In Europe, Turkish Airlines is being recognised for a very specific strength. At the 2026 APEX Official Airline Ratings, the carrier has received the Best in Entertainment in Europe award. This distinction is being noted as a regional APEX Passenger Choice award, reflecting how passengers have rated the airline’s onboard entertainment systems and content library against European peers. The 2026 accolade marks the fourth consecutive year in which Turkish Airlines has earned this particular honour, suggesting a high degree of consistency in how travellers view the experience.
The basis for this success lies in the rating structure used by APEX. Passengers are being asked to score airlines across core categories that shape the onboard journey, including seat comfort, cabin service, food and beverage, in‑flight entertainment and Wi‑Fi. For Turkish Airlines, it is being emphasised that the in‑flight entertainment component repeatedly performs strongly in Europe‑wide comparisons. Feedback is being collected via TripIt and Concur, ensuring that only real passengers who have flown on specific itineraries are providing scores. Those responses are then being anonymised, cross‑checked and audited before being used to determine regional winners.
Behind the headline award, Turkish Airlines is being portrayed as using a broader passenger‑centric approach, spanning not only entertainment but also cabin comfort, digital services and connectivity. However, the repeated recognition as Best in Entertainment in Europe is being used as the clearest signal of how its investment in content variety, interface quality and system reliability is perceived by its customers. For travellers comparing European carriers on long‑haul and medium‑haul routes, this award is being framed as a strong endorsement of the Turkish Airlines onboard offering.
Beyond Europe, Air Canada is being presented as one of the leading global performers in the APEX system for the 2026 cycle. The airline has been named an APEX Five Star Global Airline for the 2026 Awards, a title it has now held for six consecutive years. This Five Star Global status is being derived from passenger ratings collected on more than one million PNR‑verified flights, using a single five‑star scale and subject to independent auditing. The repeated achievement indicates that the airline is delivering a consistently high level of service across multiple dimensions of the passenger experience.
In addition to this overall rating, Air Canada is being recognised with an APEX award for Best Inflight Connectivity. This specific award acknowledges the quality and reliability of the airline’s onboard Wi‑Fi and related digital services. As more travellers rely on internet access for work, communication and entertainment, the ability to provide stable connectivity at altitude is being treated as a key differentiator. Air Canada’s win in this category signals that passengers feel its connectivity offer is robust and user friendly compared with many rivals.
Taken together, the Five Star Global status and the Best Inflight Connectivity award are being used to position Air Canada as a carrier that not only meets baseline expectations for comfort, service and catering but also excels at enabling passengers to stay connected throughout their journeys. For long‑haul travellers linking North America with Europe, Asia and beyond, this combination of strengths is being framed as a persuasive reason to choose Air Canada over other options.
Etihad Airways is also being highlighted as a top‑tier performer in the 2026 APEX ratings. The airline has been named an APEX Five Star Global Airline for 2026, placing it in a select group of carriers worldwide that achieve the highest passenger‑rated status. This rating was announced at the APEX/IFSA Awards Ceremony in Long Beach and is based on a dataset that includes nearly one million flights and almost 600 airlines, all rated solely by passengers via the TripIt and Concur interface.
The Five Star Global classification signals that Etihad is being consistently scored highly across all key elements of the onboard and broader travel experience. Seat comfort, cabin service, food and beverage, entertainment and connectivity are all being evaluated, and the combined results are placing Etihad in the upper tier of global airlines. This recognition aligns with the carrier’s wider strategy of positioning itself as a premium, service‑focused airline linking Abu Dhabi with the rest of the world.
For travellers, the APEX rating provides an independent, passenger‑based confirmation that Etihad’s product is perceived as strong across different markets and cabin classes. In a competitive Gulf and global long‑haul landscape, this Five Star Global label is being used as one of the markers that help passengers distinguish Etihad from other full‑service carriers.
STARLUX Airlines, a relatively new entrant in the long‑haul and regional markets, is being recognised as an APEX Five Star Global Airline for 2026 as well. This title was confirmed at the 2026 APEX Awards Ceremony and follows earlier APEX Five Star recognition for the carrier. The repeated inclusion in the Five Star Global category is being interpreted as evidence that STARLUX has managed to build a strong reputation for service quality and passenger satisfaction in a relatively short period of time.
The basis for STARLUX’s recognition is the same passenger‑driven process used for other airlines: travellers rate their flights on the five‑star APEX scale, covering core categories, and those ratings are aggregated and audited. STARLUX’s network growth and focus on design, hospitality and onboard amenities are being seen as key contributors to its performance. For passengers considering newer carriers, the APEX Five Star Global rating is being used as reassurance that the airline has been independently and favourably assessed by other travellers, not just by marketing claims.
In the broader landscape, STARLUX’s inclusion alongside long‑established brands such as Air Canada and Etihad Airways is being used to illustrate how quickly a well‑executed service model can be recognised when passenger feedback is systematically collected and analysed at scale.
Within the APEX framework, not all airlines are categorised as global carriers; some are grouped as Major Airlines based on network size and structure. Gulf Air is being highlighted in this segment, having been recognised as an APEX Five Star Major Airline for 2026. This is reported as the third consecutive year in which Gulf Air has held this title.
Passenger‑rated APEX Five Star Major Airline status indicates that Gulf Air is delivering a level of customer experience that stands out within its segment. The airline itself is presenting this recognition as evidence of continued improvement in its products and services and as a reflection of the warmth of Bahraini hospitality on board. The consistent APEX performance suggests that passengers are responding positively to enhancements in cabins, service style, catering and overall comfort.
For travellers in the Middle East and those connecting through Bahrain on regional and medium‑haul routes, the Five Star Major Airline label is being positioned as a sign that Gulf Air is a strong alternative to larger global network airlines, particularly for those who value personalised, regionally rooted service.
In the South Pacific, Fiji Airways is being celebrated for specific aspects of its onboard offer. At the 2026 APEX Best in Airline Awards, the carrier has secured two regional category wins: Best Cabin Service in the South Pacific and Best Food and Beverage in the South Pacific. These awards are being described as passenger‑driven, reflecting strong service and culinary scores among travellers on routes within and beyond the region.
The Best Cabin Service award points to the quality of onboard hospitality, including the attentiveness, professionalism and warmth of cabin crew. Meanwhile, the Best Food and Beverage recognition underscores passenger satisfaction with menu design, meal presentation and the overall dining experience on board. Together, these awards are being used to showcase Fiji Airways as a carrier that provides a particularly welcoming and flavourful experience, aligning with the country’s broader tourism image as a friendly, relaxed and hospitable destination.
For visitors flying to Fiji for leisure, such recognition is being framed as a reassurance that the holiday experience starts as soon as passengers board the aircraft, rather than only upon arrival. In a region where flight segments can be long and infrequent, high‑quality cabin service and catering are being treated as especially important.
Beyond the airlines that have picked up named category awards or specific press coverage, APEX’s 2026 Four Star and Five Star recipient lists confirm that a broad group of carriers have attained passenger‑rated excellence status. These airlines may not have been singled out for a single category, but they are being recognised as offering a consistently high level of overall experience.
In the APEX Five Star Global category for 2026, a selection of airlines is being listed. These include Aeroméxico, Air Canada, Air France, Air New Zealand, Austrian, Cathay Pacific, China Airlines, Delta Air Lines, EL AL, Etihad Airways, EVA Air, Finnair, Garuda Indonesia, Hainan Airlines, KLM, Korean Air, LATAM Airlines, Qantas, SAS, STARLUX Airlines, SWISS, United Airlines and Virgin Atlantic. Each of these carriers is being identified as providing a passenger experience that, when assessed across seat comfort, service, food, entertainment and connectivity, delivers consistently high scores in aggregated traveller feedback.
In the APEX Five Star Major Airlines category, a further group is being recognised. Among these are Aer Lingus, Air Astana, Air Baltic, Air Tahiti Nui, Alaska Airlines, Azul, Bangkok Airways, Breeze Airways, Caribbean Airlines, Copa Airlines, Gulf Air, Hawaiian Airlines and JetBlue Airways. Additional carriers in this segment include China Southern, Ethiopian Airlines, Iberia, ITA Airways, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Malaysia Airlines, South African Airways, TAP Air Portugal and Thai Airways International. These airlines are being identified as high performers within their size and network segment, based again on verified passenger reviews.
Together, these lists paint a picture of a global airline industry in which excellence is distributed across regions and business models. Traditional flag carriers, low‑cost hybrids, regional specialists and emerging long‑haul players all appear among the APEX Five Star Global and Five Star Major recipients. For passengers, these lists can be used as a starting point when evaluating which airlines are most likely to deliver a positive overall experience, even when detailed category‑by‑category information is not immediately available.
Underpinning all of these recognitions is a consistent methodology. APEX collects neutral, anonymised passenger feedback through TripIt and Concur, two widely used travel management platforms. Passengers rate their flights using a single five‑star interface, and those ratings are linked to PNR data to verify that only genuine trips are included. The dataset covers over one million flights and more than 600 airlines globally. Independent auditing is being applied to ensure that the process remains robust and that airlines cannot manipulate outcomes.
However, while the methodology is transparent, the publication model is only partial. APEX and participating airlines generally highlight headline ratings and selected category or regional wins, such as Best in Entertainment in Europe, Best Cabin Service in the South Pacific or Five Star Global Airline status. A comprehensive, publicly accessible table listing every 2026 regional sub‑category winner across all metrics and all regions is not provided in open sources. As a result, it is not currently possible to compile a truly exhaustive, airline‑by‑airline list of every excellence‑type award that has been granted for 2026.
Despite this limitation, the airlines discussed above are all verified as 2026 APEX award or top‑tier rating recipients through official airline press releases and APEX’s own published lists. Turkish Airlines is being confirmed as Best in Entertainment in Europe, Air Canada as a Five Star Global Airline and Best Inflight Connectivity winner, Etihad Airways and STARLUX Airlines as Five Star Global Airlines, Gulf Air as a Five Star Major Airline and Fiji Airways as a double regional category winner for cabin service and food and beverage. The broader APEX Five Star Global and Five Star Major lists show that many other carriers also share in passenger‑rated recognition, even when specific categories are not publicly detailed.
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